Two weeks before he was to begin a cross-country bike ride to benefit soldiers who have suffered catastrophic injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan, Matthew Sanchez put a face with a cause. He stood next to Dillon Cannon in the gym at Shepherd Center, and they compared scars on their necks.

As Native American tribes in Montana, Louisiana, New York, California and Wisconsin await decisions on recognition by the federal government hundreds of thousands of dollars are at stake, in addition to cultural and historical considerations.

When William Shakespeare bequeathed his "second-best bed" to his wife nearly 400 years ago, a scribe dipped his quill pen in ink and scratched the bard's last wishes on parchment. Now the public can see the playwright's final will and testament on a computer screen with the click of a mouse.

Are there ghostly goings-on at Henry VIII's palace, or is that hazy image of a fellow in fancy robes just a bit of Christmas cheer? Closed-circuit security cameras at Hampton Court Palace, the huge Tudor castle outside London, seem to have snagged an ethereal visitor. Could it be a ghost?